Condenser for automobile-radiators.



FA A. HOWARD.

CONDENSER FOR AUTOMOBILE RADIATOHS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. I8, i916.

Patentd July 17, 1917.

FRANK A. Brown, or cHIcAeo, rumors, Assiduon or cnn-HALF 'ro nussnm.

wlLns, or nrvnnsrnn, ILLinoIs.

CONDENSER FOR AUTOMOBILE-RADIATORS.

raaaoao.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented July 47, 191W,

Application filed J' anary la, 1916. Serial No. 72,720.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, FRANK A. HOWARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in C'ondensers for Automobile- ,Radiators,of which the following is aY specilication.

, My invention relates to improvements in 'taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Y y Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through the ller neck of one common type of aiutomobile radiator, showing the-manner ofapplying my condenser thereto.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2 of Fig. 1.`

Fig. 3 is a broken view similar to Fig. 1, but showing a dierent manner of applying the condenser and also illustrating a thermometer in place on the condenser.

Fi 4 is a section illustrating a further modlcation of the means for attaching the condenser, andv Fig.'5 is a section on the line 5 of Fig. 4.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the numeral 10 designates the upperv shell portion of an automobile radiator, which shell commonly car. ries a vertically extending ller-neck 11. 1n the construction shown the neck 11 is frustoconical in shape with an upwardly facing shoulder 12 from which rises the internally threaded cap-receiving portion 13. In coinmon practice this neck will be closed by an externallyv threaded generall cup-shaped cap which engages the threa s of the neck and may seat against a packing gasket on the shoulder 12.

For relieving pressure created by generatlon of vapor or by expansion of the liquid within Vthe radiatorand its connected circulating system it is necessary to provide a vent orifice of some description. The almost universal method of venting radiators is to provide 4a vent or overHow pipe such as the pipe 14 of Fig. 1, this pipe'having its open upperv end lextending above the normal water level in the neck and usually almost to the top thereof, the other end of the pipe being led outside ofthe radiator and vented to the atmosphere at any desired location, usually adjacent the bottom of the radiator. For applying my condenser to such a radiator construction as l have described, I

.providelirst a special form of gasket, designated 15 and preferably comprising a, relatively stifl" annulus of metal or fiberhaving a perforation to receive theA end of the pipe 14 and carrying a soft resilient facing member which by its resiliency will form a seal around the pipe. rl`his gasket I slip into the filler-neck as shown in Fig. 1, permitting it to seat upon the shoulder 12 therein with4 the resilient facing on the uppersurface.

For coperating with this special gasket l provide a special form of radiator cap 16, having an internal depending flange 17 of a diameter equal to that of the central hole in the annular gasket'15 and adapted, when the cap is screwed into position, to seat upon the upper face ofthe gasket and thus cut off the annular chamber 18 into which the upper end of the vent pipe 14 entersfrom the interior of the radiator.

The vapors evolved within the radiator, or'

the circulating system of which it is a part, rlse to the free surface of the liquid within the shell 10 or filler neck 11 and entering -the condenser inlet 19 work their way u Wardly through* the convolutions of the coil, being gradually cooled by contactwith the walls and finally condensed Thecondensate drains downwardly to Vthe inlet'19 and drips back into the vradiator to replenish the liquid therein` So long asthe vapors are evolved at a rate below the condensing capacity of the'coil this action will continue,

the whole of the distillate being returned continuously through the redux condenser.

llllll If, however, the distillation rate exceeds the rate of condensation, uncondensed vapors will ass the top convolution and enter the relief) pipe 21, traversing the latter and entering the annular chamber 18 from which they will bevented by the pipe 14, which thus performs its intended work of'preventing excessive pressure within the radiator and furthermore vents the uncondensed vapors passing through the worm at the very place and in the same manner as it would, in the absence of my condenser, vent all of the vapors generated within the radiator. So also, when the radiator is completely filled with cold liquid, and the subsequent heating thereof causes an expansion of the liquid, the excess volume passes freely upward through the worm and by the relief pipe is conducted to chamber 18, thence to the pipe 14 and overiiows through the latter in exactly the fashion intended by the designer of the radiator. When itis desired to fill or inspect the interior of the radiator the cap'is unscrewed in the customary manner, the gasket being left in place unless a larger opening than that afforded by its central hole is required.

It will therefore, be seen that my condenser, while serving its intended purpose of condensing and returning tothe radiator the liquid distilled therein, does not interfere with or modify the functions and arrangements of the existing structure.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a different form of radiator filler-neck designated 23 and having a plane cylindrical inner bore with external threads 24 for the cap. With this form of neck I prefer to make use of the standard cap 25 which is supplied therewith, fastening the condenser tothe cap by drilling holes through the latter. rThus the inlet end member 26 of the worm, which may be a separate elbow casting, is let into a hole in the center of the cap and secured in place by a bell-shaped nut 27 which itself forms the desired internal flange corresponding to the-flange 17 of Fig. 1. The-lower en the relief pipe, designated 28, is let into adrilled hole nea-r the periphery of the cap and secured in place by a small nut 29. Since the radiator neck itself provides no shoulder upon which t0 seat the necessary gasket or horizontal partition, I form the latter as a ianged cup 30, the flange 31 of which seats upon the upper end of the neck while the bottom is perforated to form the` large central opening 32 for registry with the bell-nut and the smaller opening to receive the ventpipe 14.

In this form of the 'invention I have slown the condenser worm as capped by a triangular. casting 33 which serves as a connection between the upper convolution 34 thereof and the relief pipe 23. This connection may be enlarged to house the bulb the thermometer is also an advantageous one for quickly and accurately determining atmospheric temperature for the reason that while the radiator itself forms a considerable reservoir of heat and cools only very slowly after having been heated, the upper portion of the condenser will reach atmospheric temperature within a very short time after the actual evolution of vapors within the radiator ceases.

v In Figs. 4 and 5 I have shown a method of applying the condenser to an ordinary form of radiator cap by drilling a single hole in the cap. The construction here illustrated is identical with that of Fig. 3 save for the condenser mounting, which is here shown as a single casting 37 having vertical and horizontal nipples 39 38 for the attachment of the inlet end and relief pipe of the condenser. The nipple 39 is in communication rwith a cored passage 40 which leads downwardly through the casting and terminates'at the threaded end 41. A securing nut 42 of the form shown is threaded upon this end, the nut bein chambered internally to communicate witg the crescent-shaped passage 43 which leads from the nipple 38, and having an aperture 44 which opens into the annular vent chamber. The evolved vapors here pass to the condenser, and the condensate returns to the radiator through the passage 40, while the vented vapors or liquid entering the nipple 38 pass downwardly through the passage 43, into the chambered nut and from the latter to the annular chamber and vent pipe 14.

Althou h I have shown and described in considerale detail some specific embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that these are-by way of illustration only, and that I do not regard my invention as limited thereto except in so far as I have included such limitations within the terms of the following claims, in which it is my intention to claim all novelty inherent in my invention as broadly as is possible in view of the prior art- What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In combination an automobile radiator cap, a reflux condenser carried thereby and having its intake end connected through the cap with the interior of the radiator, and means connecting the distal end of the condenser with the radiator overow pipe.

v body df t 2. lin combination an automobile radiator cap, means forming with the cap an annular space open to the radiator overflow pipe and a central space open to the radiator, and a reflux condenser carried by the cap and having its intake endv connected to the central space and its distal endto the annular space.

3. In combination an automobile radiator having a filler neck extending upwardly from the Water compartment thereof, an overflow pipe extending upwardly from the e radiator into the said filler neck, an annular gasketlying within the said neck and having a perforation to receivethe said neck and having a depending flange for seating upon the said gasket-to form an annular compartment into which the upper end of the overow pipe projects, and a reflux condenser carried by the said cap and having its intake end connected through the cap with the interior of the radiator and itsv distal end connected with the said annular compartment.

FRANK A. HOWARD. In presence of- A. C. FISCHER, C# C. BREUER.' 

